OFFICIAL RECORD SERIES 1 - ANNEX 7

ANNEX 7: PROCEDURES FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE GRANT OF ROUTE LICENCES AND AIR TRANSPORT LICENCES AND FOR REVOCATION, SUSPENSION OR VARIATION OF ROUTE LICENCES AND AIR TRANSPORT LICENCES

General

1. The procedures set out in this annex apply equally to Route Licensing and Air Transport Licensing. For the procedures relating to Scarce Capacity Allocation Certificates, see Annex 8.

Applications

2. Applications should be made to the Consumer Protection Group, Airline Licensing and Consumer Issues, at the address at Part 4. All applications should be made on the appropriate form, which may be obtained from the above address or through the Consumer Protection Group pages of the CAA Website.

Applications to Vary Licences

3. Applications may be made to vary licences, either by the licence holder or by another licence holder. In the case of applications to vary a licence held by someone other than the applicant, the applicant is required by the CAA Regulations to serve a copy of the application on the licence holder within twenty-four hours after it has been served on the CAA. If he does not do so, the CAA is unable to consider the application.

Notice Required and Publication

4. Regulation 16(1)(a) of the CAA Regulations provides that the CAA may refuse to consider an application for the grant of a licence unless it has been made not less than six months before it is proposed to be in effect. The CAA will normally accept applications with less notice, though they will in most cases be subject to a minimum period of publication as set out below.

5. Except in cases to which one of the provisos to Regulation 16(3) of the CAA Regulations applies (cases of particular urgency, where the interests of others are not prejudiced, and certain other circumstances), details of applications will be published by the CAA in its Official Record, Licensing Notices, Series 2, which appears weekly on the CAA’s website. An “objection period” will be allowed after publication of any application during which objections or representations may be served on the CAA; the normal objection period is 21 days.

6. The length of time taken to reach a decision will depend on the circumstances of each application. Unopposed applications may be dealt with very quickly after the end of the objection period. If the application attracts objections, the CAA will aim to deliver decisions as quickly as possible consistent with ensuring natural justice. However, the process is likely to take at least a month in the event that a public hearing is required.

7. Applications for or relating to a licence must be re-published at 12-monthly intervals if the CAA has neither made a decision on it nor set the case down for hearing. Further objections and representations may be made on re-publication.

Objections and Representations

8. The procedure for making objections and representations in respect of licence applications is set out in Regulation 20 of the CAA Regulations. Anyone making the objection or representation should state whether he wishes to be heard by the CAA: if he does not do so, he loses any right to be heard by the CAA. He must also, within twenty-four hours after serving the objection or representation on the CAA, serve a copy of it on:(a) the applicant;(b) any person with a right to be heard (see paragraph 9);(c) any body which the CAA is obliged by Regulation 21 to consult in respect of the application. These bodies are the Isle of Man and Gibraltar. Contact details can be found at Part 4.

Hearings and Decisions of the CAA

9. Regulation 25(1) of the CAA Regulations, as amended, defines the persons who have a right to be heard by the CAA before any decision (other than a decision to vary a licence provisionally) on an application is made. The CAA also has discretion to hear any person not specified as having a right to be heard, provided that he has made an objection or representation within the stated period and requested to be heard.

10. The statutory procedures in connection with hearings and decisions by the CAA are set out in Regulations 25 and 26. The CAA will aim to arrange hearings as quickly as possible, consistent with ensuring natural justice and allowing all parties to prepare evidence. For a case where there is no urgent need for an immediate decision, the CAA will normally give two months notice of a hearing date. Once a hearing date has been announced it will be changed only for the most compelling reasons.

11. Written evidence must be provided to the CAA and to the other parties in advance of a hearing. Once the CAA has received all the written submissions, it will issue a Statement of Key Issues, which it will expect the parties to address at the hearing.

12. The following procedures and timescales apply to different types of hearing:

In the case of a hearing arising from an objection to an application for a new licence, the CAA will normally expect to fix the date for the hearing around one month before the hearing itself. The objector will be required to deliver his written submission first, within 5 working days of notification of the hearing, so that the applicant may respond to it. The applicants’ evidence is required 10 working days before the hearing.

In a case where one licence holder proposes to vary the licence of another, the hearing date will normally (in the absence of a case being made that the CAA finds persuasive) be fixed and announced not less than two months before the hearing itself. The applicant will be expected to deliver its written evidence 25 working days before the start of the hearing. Objectors will be expected to deliver their written evidence 15 working days before the start of the hearing.

13. In the event that one party fails to deliver its evidence on time the CAA will consult the other parties as to whether the hearing should be postponed.

14. The CAA will expect to issue its written decision as quickly as possible after the hearing and will aim to achieve this within 15 working days of the end of the hearing.

15. Regulation 26(7) requires the CAA to record the proceedings at hearing and to make a transcript generally available at a reasonable price. Requests for a transcript should be made to the CAA as soon as possible after the hearing.

Appeals to the Secretary of State against Decisions of the CAA

16. Regulation 27(1) of the CAA Regulations, as amended by Schedule 2 of the Licensing of Air Carriers Regulations 1992, provides that every party to a case shall have a right of appeal to the Secretary of State against any licensing decision of the CAA. Notices of appeals to the Secretary of State and submissions relating to such appeals should be sent to the address in Part 4.

17. The time limit for serving appeals in most circumstances is prescribed in Regulation 27(4). It is modified, as are other time limits in connection with submissions, by Regulation 27(9) in cases relating to scarce bilateral capacity and by Regulation 28 in cases involving preliminary hearings of allegations of behaviour damaging to a competitor.

18. Regulation 27(3) provides that a copy of the notice of appeal must be served on the CAA and on each of the persons specified. Regulation 27(6) permits any party to the appeal, or any person or body consulted by the CAA under Regulation 21, to serve a written submission on the Secretary of State, but prohibits the submission of evidence not before the CAA when it decided the case.

Publication by the CAA of Information on Licence Applications and Decisions

19. Information on applications, decisions, forthcoming public hearings, appeals, orders by the Secretary of State and other notices will appear in the CAA’s Official Record, Series 2, Licensing Notices, which are published on the CAA’s website. Copies of recent decisions are also available from the CAA website.